1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to layout systems, layout programs, and layout methods for producing a layout of published information, such as documents, images, and the like. More specifically, the invention to a layout system, a layout program, and a layout method suitable for producing an optimum layout of published information when the attributes of the published information are not clearly determined in advance.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, there has been a technique to produce a layout of published information, such as documents, images, and the like, as described in World Wide Web Consortium ‘Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) Version 1.0’, Chapters 6.4.9, 6.4.10 and 6.4.11, Oct. 15, 2001, by using a method of producing a layout by using a eXtensible Sylesheet Language (“XSL”), a standard form of World Wide Web Consortium (“WWWC”) document.
XSL is a specification for producing beautiful layouts of eXtensible Markup Language (“XML”) documents to edit them. The concept of a page is not fully accepted in Hyper Text Markup Language (“HTML”) and Cascading Style Sheets (“CSS”) to standardize the style of HTML, but it is accepted in XSL for the purpose of printing onto paper. Therefore, for example, the following styles can be determined in XSL.
First, a layout format (including a printing format) can be set up at respective even or odd pages. That is, a phrase ‘odd-or-even’ is used for description. Secondly, a layout format can be set exclusively for the first, end or blank pages. This is described by using a phrase ‘page-position’. Thirdly, it is possible to set the number of repetitions of a particular layout format, the number of pages to be covered by the layout format. This is described by using phrase ‘maximum-repeats’.
A detailed description is made about the functions of the layout formats at pieces of XSL specification, ‘fo: repeatable-page-master-alternatives’, ‘fo: repeatable-page-master-reference’, and ‘fo: conditional-page-master-reference’. A layout format of each page can be set by the functions of the aforementioned items.